TONY ADAMS: WRONG MAN, WRONG JOB, WRONGTIME

In association with COMMERCIAL VEHICLES Pompey chaos on & off the pitch

Rows in the dressing room and rubbish on the pitch - Tony Adams and his Portsmouth players are not a winning combination.

As the FA Cup holders continued their inexorable slide towards the relegation zone, the former England captain increasingly appears the wrong man in the wrong job at the wrong time. And after only two victories in 15 Premier League games, that time is quickly running out.

Frenchman Alain Perrin was sacked in November 2005 after winning only four of his 21 games - exactly the same record as Adams.

He knew he took on a tough job succeeding Harry Redknapp last October and accepting the budget for the up foa-z-a-zale club had to be slashed.

Losing players like Sulley Muntari, Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe since last season would hurt any side. His midfield has been stripped of any creativity and his strikers have no pace.

But Adams has to work with what he has got. And as the shambolic defensive display at Craven Cottage showed, he is failing to do so.

He blamed "schoolboy errors" after Pompey's sixth defeat in seven games, claiming he had carefully briefed his side on Fulham's threat beforehand.

But if his briefings are like his painfully inarticulate post-match analysis, it is no real surprise the players didn't carry out his orders. "In the dressing room I said we can't continue to make these errors, like gambling with offsides," Adams said. "We need to stop making mistakes as a team and individually."

And about the harsh words in the dressing room, he said: "There are people in there who like to express themselves.

We've got characters like David James (left). A few words always get said after every game.

As a manager it's my job to share my thoughts with them about what happened."

But captain Sylvain Distin, who was shocking at the heart of the Portsmouth defence, insisted Adams still had the backing of his players.

"Saying the manager had a word with the players after the game and saying the manager has lost the dressing room are two different things," said the Frenchman.

"Of course we exchanged words. But there was no fight - nothing that doesn't happen after any other game."

There was little fight on the pitch, either. After Andy Johnson gave Fulham a 15th-minute lead, Younes Kaboul hit the bar with a header and sub David Nugent was denied a penalty appeal after the break.

But the Pompey defence was absent without leave when Erik Nevland ran through from his own half to score the crucial second goal, and the Norwegian settled the game with an equally cool finish after 80 minutes.

While Portsmouth opted for a rookie manager, Fulham reverted to the experience of old campaigner Roy Hodgson 13 months ago. It proved the right decision.

Hodgson spoke about his transfer policy in this window and insisted his side would not be signing Fabian Delph from Leeds. "We're not looking for 19-year-olds who may be good players some time in the future," he said tellingly.

"We need people who are experienced enough to handle anything, like being behind away from home and chasing the game or clinging on to a lead.

"We need experience and quality at this level without two months' preparation. Whoever comes in has got to be ready to do a job straight away."

It is exactly the same for Premier League managers.

We can't continue to make these errors, like gambling with offside.. a few words were said ADAMS